


Happy Reading

by Alphabees



Series: Prompts, Ficlets, Drabbles. [3]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Ficlet, Kurt's kind of an obnoxious book person here but I think it works for him, M/M, Meet Messy, Tumblr Prompt, book vandalism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:08:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24987310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alphabees/pseuds/Alphabees
Summary: For the AU + Trope + Prompt gameBookstore!AU + Meet Messy + “Suck on that.”
Relationships: Kurt Hummel/Sebastian Smythe
Series: Prompts, Ficlets, Drabbles. [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1776796
Comments: 15
Kudos: 64





	Happy Reading

It has been a long, arduous day for Kurt, more so than most that he spends behind the counter at The Land Of Stories, Lima’s premier literary oasis for anybody in the area who loves books as much as he does. Today, there are three stand-out reasons that he’s so desperate to remove his nametag. 

One: the new Murakami book that released the day before that his boss managed to pre-order in bulk. 

Two: the many fans of Murakami who crowded the store and almost depleted them of their stock entirely in a matter of hours.

Three: the fact that Kurt’s been desperate to get his hands on that title since it was first announced.

As it stands, there’s one copy left, and twenty minutes until the end of his shift.

His 15% staff discount is nice, but it would be nicer if he was allowed to use it during his shift. That morning he opened the store and did something close to begging but with more dignity with his boss, who refused to make an exception to his rule. 

He’s been staring at that one remaining book for too long to be healthy when the bell chimes and somebody walks in.

That somebody, from what Kurt can see from his place at the back of the store, is handsome. 

He’s about as tall as the bookshelf, which means he’s taller than Kurt by a little bit, with light brown hair that he would be happy to reach up and run his fingers through. Anybody with a jawline like that is worth the effort, he concludes, especially if they look that good in glasses; Kurt can’t see his eyes from his station, but considering everything else, he’s willing to conclude that they’re mesmerising. 

A few seconds later, he comes back down to earth, his heart pounding as the patron of his dreams looks around. There’s a thoughtful look on his face as he peruses the sections, giving each genre its fair shake before he does the one thing Kurt has been silently praying he wouldn’t.

He picks up that damn book. 

“No!” Kurt yelps, because he was so, _so_ close to claiming the very last one as his own.

The guy freezes in place, looking up at him over the rim of those glasses, and Kurt swallows as he tries to find a passable excuse for that little outburst. 

“Is that what passes for customer service these days?” The handsome devil drawls, turning the book over carefully in his hands. Something in the way he looks at it tells Kurt that it’s completely unfamiliar to him, and it just happened to pique his curiosity. The smirk on the guy’s face when he looks up at Kurt all but confirms that. “Oh, I’m sorry… Did you want this?”

Thank goodness - mercy.

“Yes, actually!” Kurt replies quickly, letting the relief flood his voice. “I’ve been waiting for--”

“That’s too bad,” he interjects, looking back down at the book with an even wider, smugger grin. “I’m buying it. Suck on that.”

Kurt is floored. Without another word the guy moves, taking the prized book with him as he browses the other shelves, and Kurt is left staring at the empty display. What could have been.

Five minutes later, when he rocks up to the counter, Kurt abstains from looking at him. There’s no way he’s giving this poisoned piece of eye candy that satisfaction. When the book appears on the counter in front of him he reluctantly goes through the usual process of scanning and bagging it - only once that’s done does he dare to look up at the world’s worst customer. 

Now, Kurt can see that his eyes are green. A gorgeous kind of green that people who buy books out of spite don’t deserve to have in his opinion - but they’re also fixed on him, taking in his features a little too intensely. His history with people who look at him for too long tells Kurt that he’s looking for something to make fun of.

“That’ll be $13.99,” Kurt tells him, eager to cut the interaction short. He rolls his eyes as the guy across from him pulls out a shiny bank card, smothering all flickers of curiosity before he can ask exactly which branch of the mafia his parents are affiliated with to leave him with a card like that.

When he finally takes his bag, Kurt is more than ready to watch him leave, but he doesn’t. Instead, he takes the book straight out of it, followed by a pen from his pocket and--

Oh _hell_ no. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Kurt splutters, as he watches a buffoon desecrate a work of art in front of his very eyes. Did they know each other in a past life? Did Kurt render his crops infertile for a season without realising it or something? There’s no other explanation for this blatant act of cruelty.

“Really going for employee of the month today, aren’t we?” mutters the spawn of satan, before he closes the cover he’s just finished ruining. 

Kurt is one deep breath away from verbally ripping his face off when he sets the book back down on the counter, sliding it over and losing exactly none of his smugness in the process. Once he forces his jaw up off of the floor, Kurt flips the cover open, morbidly curious enough to assess the severity of the vandalism.

_1-(614)-555-696 - Sebastian Smythe_   
_Happy reading._

Kurt is gobsmacked - so much so that he doesn’t look up until the bell chimes again. Nobody stops by for the last few minutes of his shift, and when his coworker shows up, he quickly clocks out with his new book in one hand, and his phone in the other. 

**Author's Note:**

> It's back again! If you'd like to see another one of these ficlets, I'm still accepting asks for it! Anonymous or not, hit me with 'em if you feel like it.
> 
> https://alphabees-writes.tumblr.com/post/622206023872184320/au-trope-prompt-game - There's the post!
> 
> I have a couple more queued up to complete as it is, but this has been a lot of fun!


End file.
